Route 66 (Arizona–California)

Route 66 (Arizona–California)
Name	Route 66 (Arizona–California)
Length mi	395
Established	1926
Decommissioned	1985 (US Highway System)
Direction a	East
Terminus a	Arizona State Route 77 (near Holbrook, Arizona)
Direction b	West
Terminus b	Interstate 10 / SR 60 (near Los Angeles)
States	Arizona, California

Route 66 (Arizona–California) is the western segment of the original U.S. Highway that connected Chicago to Santa Monica, California. Running approximately 395 miles from eastern Arizona through California to the Greater Los Angeles Area, the corridor traverses desert, mountain passes, and historic urban districts. The alignment influenced migration, commerce, and the built environment across the Southwestern United States during the 20th century.

Route description

The western portion begins near Holbrook, Arizona and proceeds west through Flagstaff, Arizona, skirting the southern edge of the Grand Canyon region before descending toward the Petrified Forest National Park corridor and crossing the Colorado River into California at Needles, California. From Needles the route follows the Mojave Desert across San Bernardino County, intersecting Barstow, California and ascending the San Bernardino Mountains via historic passes like the once-used Glen Helen alignments into the Inland Empire. The highway continues west through Rialto, California, Pomona, California, and the eastern fringes of the Los Angeles Basin, ending near Santa Monica and connective arterials such as Santa Monica Freeway interchanges with Interstate 10. The corridor includes segments now designated as Historic Route 66 and California State Route 66 as well as portions subsumed by Interstate 40 and Interstate 15.

History

Conceived during the 1920s highway-building era, the western segment opened as part of the U.S. Numbered Highway System approved in 1926. Early alignments followed territorial wagon routes and alignments promoted by boosters in Los Angeles and Chicago to link Midwestern industry with Pacific ports. During the Great Depression, the corridor carried migrants headed for California in the wake of the Dust Bowl; writings by John Steinbeck and other chroniclers elevated the road's profile. World War II convoy movements and postwar tourism expansion accelerated paving, commercial development, and the growth of motor courts, neon signage, and service stations influenced by companies like Phillips 66 and Standard Oil of California. The 1956 Federal-Aid Highway Act led to the construction of Interstate 40 and Interstate 10, which gradually bypassed original alignments and culminated in the highway's formal removal from the U.S. Highway System in 1985. Preservation efforts since the 1980s involving groups such as the National Trust for Historic Preservation and state historic commissions have sought to maintain surviving segments, signage, and vernacular architecture.

Major towns and landmarks

Prominent communities along the western route include Holbrook, Arizona, Winslow, Arizona, Flagstaff, Arizona, Kingman, Arizona, Needles, California, Barstow, California, and San Bernardino, California, extending toward Pasadena, California and Santa Monica, California. Key landmarks encompass Petrified Forest National Park, Meteor Crater (Arizona), the Wigwam Motel (Holbrook, Arizona), the Motel Safari, the Oatman Highway and historic mining town of Oatman, Arizona, and the roadside neon legacy represented by the Bagdad Café and preserved diner structures linked to chains like Denny's and independent proprietors. Transportation nodes such as the Los Angeles Union Station and freight corridors including BNSF Railway and Union Pacific Railroad parallel or intersect the corridor. Cultural waypoints referencing performers and institutions—Route 66 (song), The Grapes of Wrath, and museums like the Route 66 Museum (Kingman)—anchor heritage tourism.

Cultural impact and tourism

The western corridor inspired literature, music, film, and television, influencing works by John Steinbeck, songs by Bobby Troup, television series involving CBS syndication, and preservation narratives advanced by National Geographic features. Motor culture institutions such as the American Automobile Association and auto clubs contributed to tourist flows that supported roadside businesses, neon artisans, and roadside architecture categorized under the Historic American Buildings Survey. Festivals and car meets in Barstow and Kingman draw classic car enthusiasts and fans of figures like Dean Martin and preservationists from organizations such as the Route 66 Association of California. Culinary roadside traditions—diners, drive-ins, and regional eateries—connect to culinary histories documented by James Beard Foundation–affiliated writers and local chambers of commerce. The route's iconography continues to feature in advertising by tourism bureaus of Arizona and California and in collections held by institutions such as the Smithsonian Institution.

Infrastructure and preservation

Infrastructure on the western route reflects layered interventions by public agencies including the Arizona Department of Transportation and the California Department of Transportation; railroads including Santa Fe Railway historically paralleled alignments, influencing townsite locations. Preservation initiatives have used instruments from the National Register of Historic Places and state historic preservation offices to list motels, bridges, and commercial districts. Nonprofit groups—Route 66 Alliance affiliates and local historical societies in Flagstaff and San Bernardino—coordinate signage conservation, streetscape rehabilitation, and grant applications under programs administered by the National Endowment for the Arts and state cultural trusts. Adaptive reuse projects have transformed motels into museums and galleries, while environmental review processes under laws like the National Environmental Policy Act have guided highway upgrades and protected sensitive desert habitats near Mojave National Preserve.

Transportation and legacy

Although superseded by limited-access Interstate corridors such as I-40 and I-10, the western corridor remains a layered transportation asset serving local commuters, freight traffic, and heritage tourists via state routes, county roads, and preserved surface alignments. The route shaped regional urbanization trends in the Inland Empire and the growth of logistics hubs in San Bernardino County and Riverside County, interacting with port-linked freight flows to Port of Los Angeles and Port of Long Beach. Educational programs at institutions like Arizona State University and University of California, Los Angeles study the corridor's social, economic, and environmental impacts. Route imagery endures in museum exhibits, academic journals, and conservation campaigns, securing the western segment's role as both transit artery and cultural landscape.

Category:U.S. Route 66 Category:Historic trails and roads in Arizona Category:Historic trails and roads in California